Padi Scuba Diver Cert. vs. Open Water Cert.

[Glenys]

My boyfriend and I are currently getting our Padi Scuba Diver Certification and are considering continuing on in order to get the Padi Open Water Certification. We are avid snorkellers and thought suba diving would be a perfect next step.

We were wondering whether it is worth it to get the OW Cert. or if the Scuba Diver Cert. is good enough.

We plan to go diving mostly in the Mediterranean, Thailand, Maldives and Sharm el Sheik. One instructor told us that with the Scuba Diver Cert. we would always need our own instructor and that would cost more than diving without one, so that in the long run it would be beneficial to have the OW Cert. so we could go alone and save money. However, we feel our instructor may have been pushing the OW Cert. in order to sell us the course.

Another option is to get the SD Cert. now, and after gaining some diving experience with an instructor, going back to get the OW Cert. so that we would be more comfortable with our skills. However, if we get the OW Cert. this summer then we could always do a refresher dive whenever necessary. The difference in cost is about €150/$200 each.

Please give us some advice on which we should do and why. Thanks!

 

[tamas970]

With Scuba diver cert you are limited to 12m depth - this is quite shallow for most of the Mediterranean. Actually my very first fun dive in Gran Canaria was deeper.

If you want to save some bucks, check out the dive schools in Croatia. They work definitely cheaper than most italian/western european shops. If you pick a 5* center, you won't have any problems with the teaching standards either. Besides, there is a lot to see, even during the course .

Speaking of money: the OW course means you have at least 2 more open water dives, the additional cost is invested underwater.

 

[Quero]

In relation to diving in Thailand, Maldives and Indonesia, it costs no more to go as a Scuba Diver than it does to go as an Open Water Diver. The cost of a dive excursion always includes the services of a dive master who leads the dive. (Scuba Divers must be accompanied by a dive professional--it doesn't have to be an Instructor.) If it's going to be long enough before your next dive trip that you will need a refresher, then I would say that you may as well wait to upgrade from Scuba Diver to Open Water Diver at that time. The money you save on the upgrade now and the refresher later can be spent on the upgrade later.

 

[tamas970]

The money you save on the upgrade now and the refresher later can be spent on the upgrade later.

True. However, the OP lives in Italy, where she can dive practically year-around in wetsuit.

 

[Quero]

tamas, did you notice that I prefaced that statement with this?

If it's going to be long enough before your next dive trip that you will need a refresher....

When (how soon?) and where (Italy/Thailand/Egypt/etc?) are important aspects to take into consideration when making their decision. If the OP and her b/f are doing just this course at the present time, subsequently have insufficient resources available (money/holidays) to go diving very soon, and then at some future time that's far enough ahead that they will need a refresher they find themselves wanting to dive, they would easily be able to spend the money on an upgrade at that time rather than on a refresher, whereas if they spend the money on the upgrade now and cannot dive for a while, they will still have to pay for a refresher later.

 

[Crowley]

In many centres in Egypt if you have the Scuba Diver certification, you will be required to dive with a private guide. The reason behind this is because the SD limit of 12 metres is one of the few limits that a PADI professional absolutely must adhere to - whereas the 18m Open Water cert is a recommendation only. The centre I used to work for required us to use our good judgement as to how deep we take an OW diver - for example if they have only 4 dives then we would stay around 18m, maybe head to 20-22 if they were comfortable with that. Never to 30m unless they were on an Advanced course.

On the other hand, many OW divers have hundreds of dives and never bothered to upgrade and there's no reason they can't go deeper than the recommended 18m - most of them already have.

(Note: Some centres will still insist that the Advanced Open Water cert is required to dive deeper than 18m)

In Egypt, especially in Sharm El Sheikh where I used to work, the dive groups can be as large as 10 people, with a mixture of experience levels, and given that, centres, guides and instructors won't want to "limit" the rest of the group because there are Scuba Divers that are restricted to 12 metres - hence the requirement for the private guide.

Please note this is not a topic for discussion about the rights or wrongs of such a policy, it's simply the way it is at some centres.

From a PADI perspective - The Scuba Diver certification is a half-way house towards Open Water. The intent is to provide some sort of certification for people who don't have the money to complete the Open Water course, or who maybe get sick when they are on holiday, which is quite often if you're visiting Egypt or Thailand or some other hot tropical country where the bugs are different and food hygiene is not necessarily of the same standard as back home, or dehydration is an often-encountered problem.

My general advice is that if you wish to dive regularly, progressing to Open Water as soon as is financially or practically possible is the best way to go. It will - in the long run - save money with respect to certification/refreshers/private guides.

One last thing that's worth mentioning is that there is another option for the "half-way" training which is the referral. If you can't complete the OW course right away due to financial constraints, time, or illness, but you know you'll be diving again within the next few months, you can ask for your papers and training to be referred to a new dive centre. The referral is valid for 12 months, whereas the SD certification is indefinite. The longer you leave it, the more likely you will have to do a refresher of some sort (6 months either way is a general limit), but you don't have to pay the extra certification fee.

Hope that helps,

Crowley

 

[japan-diver]

In many places I have dove the PADI Scuba Diver cert which requires you to dive with a pro requires a private guide as Crowley pointed out. I would go with the OW class right away and use refreshers if needed. There are some restrictions on the PADI Scuba diver cert that would limit you in many places that you may dive.

 

[Glenys]

Thanks for the excellent advice! We tend to go to the beach in Italy between April and late September. Since we've never dived before this course, we don't know how often we'll do it so we wanted to get an idea of the pros and cons. If we don't do the OW now, I'll get a wetsuit instead. I'll have my boyfriend read everyone's suggestions and then decide. Any further info is certainly appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I certainly recommend getting your open water certification, both for range of diving and independence in diving as you develop you skills and competence.
DivemasterDennis

 

[windapp]

If you are trying to save the difference between ow and scuba diver, diving is the wrong sport for your wallet. The course fees are just the tip of the ice-burg. When they certify you, somebody installs an invisible adapter on your wallet. This makes the vacuum effect possible every time you walk into a dive shop